Those unfamiliar with the Souls series may believe they're simply brutal single-player experiences, but most of them, including Demon's Souls, also have unique multiplayer systems. One of the main draws of the original PS3 version of Demon's Souls was its implementation of this brand new kind of multiplayer, which seamlessly connected its single-player experience with cooperative and competitive play. However, this was FromSoftware's first attempt at a Souls game, so its PvP was less polished and balanced than it should have been, and this carries over to the PlayStation 5 remake.
In Demon's Souls, players engage in multiplayer by using the Blue Eye and Black Eye Stones to play with others cooperatively or competitively. Similar to the equivalent items in Dark Souls, the Blue Eye Stone places a summoning sign down for other players to find in their worlds, allowing the user to be summoned into another person's game as an ally. However, the Black Eye Stone can be used to forcefully invade another player's world with the goal of killing them and stealing their Humanity. It's a system unique to the Souls series that immersively combines multiplayer and single-player into a single experience.
Remake developer Bluepoint added some simple quality of life updates, like password matchmaking to play with friends, but the rest of the experience has been left untouched. In Demon's Souls, players can play in either Soul Form or Human Form, but they can only use the Eye Stones while in Soul Form. Since successfully defeating a host when invading or defeating a boss while assisting automatically restores one's Human Form, players need to literally kill themselves after every victory to continue seeking matches. While it makes sense from a narrative perspective that only souls can transcend dimensions, this gets tedious quickly and could have been updated in the Demon's Souls remake.
How Demon's Souls PvP Is Unbalanced
It's practically common knowledge that magic builds in the Souls series are typically some of the easiest setups to use, but in Demon's Souls, magic is outright overpowered. Combining the Firestorm spell received from Yuria the Witch with the magic-boosting Monk's Head Wrappings, Kris Blade, and Ring of Magical Sharpness makes magic unbelievably powerful. It's capable of defeating multiple bosses with a single cast, and its range and speed are absurd, as well. As if the ability to one- or two-shot most players online wasn't enough, it's even able to vault opponents into nearby pits if positioned properly. Firestorm obviously costs lots of MP to cast, and the fire pillars it spawns are random, but its sheer damage and speed make it very difficult to deal with online without Anti-Magic Field.
Another tool that is far too powerful is the Northern Regalia weapon. Crafted by combining Soulbrandt and Demonbrandt, this weapon does maximum damage as long as the player is at pure black or pure white character tendency, which makes it hit extremely hard. It does more damage than most weapons in Demon's Souls and can be used with very little investment into offensive stats, which leaves room for lots of health. It's even a relatively quick weapon, so it can be very challenging to compete with its punishing nature.
Still, even though it's not the most balanced competitive experience out there, Demon's Souls PvP is still fun and has a charm of its own. The invasion system gives the game a barbaric feel, where honor is thrown out the window and the only thing that matters is scoring a victory at any cost. In many ways, such a multiplayer system fits the grim tone of Demon's Souls best.
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